Chinese shipyard uses giant crane to launch PSV

DECEMBER 19, 2014 — China’s Honghua Offshore Oil & Gas Equipment Company has used the giant gantry crane at its Jiangsu Shipyard to launch the yard’s first vessel, an 83.2 m LOA platform supply vessel.

The launch was the first time the crane has been used. Rated at 22,000 SWL and called the Honghai Crane, the unit is said to be the world’s largest moving gantry crane.

Commenting on the successful launch, Mr. Zhang Mi, Chairman of Honghua Group, said that  in using the crane Honghai Offshore had fully implemented the innovative concept of “Onshore Manufacturing of Offshore Equipment,” aimed at shortened the construction cycle and decreasing the construction cost of large offshore drilling equipment.

“We believe that Honghai Crane will bring revolutionary innovation to the industrial chain and manufacturing technique of offshore drilling platform, and open a new era for the development of global offshore engineering,” he said.

Designed by OSD-IMT, the U.K. unit of the Offshore Ship Designers Group, the IMT 982 design PSV, the Nordic Trym, is set to be delivered to owners Nordic Offshore Supply Limited in April 2015.

The vessel has a deck area of 900 sq.m and can carry 1,360 cu.m of fuel oil, 770 cu.m of potable fresh water, 1,010 cu.m of liquid mud/brine, 1,350 cu.m of drill water/water ballast, 278 cu.m of dry bulk and 170 cum of base oil.

It has a maximum deadweight of about 3,900 tonnes at 5.95 m draft.

Accommodations are provided for 27 persons.

The diesel electric propulsion system comprises four main diesel generators, two 1,900 kW frequency controlled electric motor-driven azimuth thrusters for main propulsion and two 800 kW frequency controlled, electric motor driven, tunnel thrusters fitted forward. The vessel is classed with Lloyds Register and is DP2 equipped.

It has a trial speed of 14.0 knots.